No, not Lakewood. Not yet. San Luis Obispo (SLO), California.
At its March 7 meeting, the SLO City Council voted 6-1 to repeal their nearly two-year-old rental inspection program (RIP).
Either the council heard footsteps, or the fact that all but one of the city councilmembers who had initially implemented the RIP had been replaced, may have led to the decision.
A petition – “to repeal and replace” the RIP – with 7,111 signatures was presented to the council February 21.
SLO Councilwoman Carlyn Christianson said, “We didn’t get the people of the community behind it. And now, after listening to the community, we have to face reality.”
Over the next six months, the SLO city council “will gather community and stakeholder input with tenants, landlords, property managers and others on how best to educate the community about housing rights and responsibilities.”
It is this educational component – after the fact, that is after the RIP law was implemented in SLO that education “about housing rights and responsibilities” will now be undertaken – that the Lakewood City Council also ignored in passing its own Ordinance No. 644.
Lakewood City Council considered, briefly, a “robust landlord/tenant outreach educational program,” but jettisoned that idea in favor of the far more intrusive interior inspections of all, with few exceptions, rental properties in the city.
Four council incumbents in Lakewood, all four voting in favor of RIP, have announced their intentions to represent the citizens in this year’s elections.
In SLO they were all replaced.
And, in SLO, 7,111 of the citizens signed a petition to make sure the replacements understood the position of the people.
It’s what happens when leadership doesn’t recognize the waving of the hands.
Wait. There’s more from SLO: “While the future is unclear, one thing is certain: Don’t expect a mandatory inspection program to come back.
“‘We cannot be in everyone’s home,’ Councilman Aaron Gomez said. ‘I don’t think this police state from us really worked.’”
http://www.newtimesslo.com/news/15095/slo-repeals-rental-inspection-program-and-starts-anew/
One instance.
Okay.
But San Luis Obispo is one-third the size of Kent, which still has Rental Housing Safety. Or Bellevue. Or Seattle. Or…
And I’ll bet the Southern California city of San Luis Obispo doesn’t have a big black mold problem.
When it comes to cities size doesn’t matter: what matters are the people of the city. Cities don’t have rights; their citizens do and representation is one of them. With a host of existing programs that address the landlord-tenant relationship….which already favor the tenant….RIP is an unnecessary intrusion into the lives of both landlord and tenant. Apparently Lakewood’s City Council didn’t hear that Trump won the Presidential election as well as Republicans the House and Senate on a platform of reduced government involvement in our lives. It took 8 years of increasing intrusion under the Obama administration to get us to this point. Hopefully less than that to get us out of it. Take a hint Lakewood City Council……less government is better government. We’re all adults and we don’t need you spying on us…..like the NSA, CIA, FBI, et. al. This idea that you can’t trust an adult population to govern their own lives is OVER! as you will be politically if you don’t get on board!
Mr. Anderson,
Thank you for your effort to keep us informed.
You are performing an important service for our community and especially for victim renters and vicitm landlords who find it difficult to impossible to fight for their freedom and Constitutional Rights when the all powerful city hall seeks to crush their freedom.
Joseph Boyle
Rental Housing Safety Program Lets Go!
LETS GO RHSP LETS GO! LETS GO RHSP LETS GO!
COME ON CITY COUNCIL LETS GO AND GET THIS STARTED!
SLUMLORDS LOVE MOLD OH NO! SLUMLORDS LOVE MOLD OH NO!
LETS GO RHSP LETS GO! LETS GO RHSP LETS GO!
US RENTERS (MANY MORE THAN SLUMLORDS) CHEER YOU ON!
DON’T LISTEN TO THE SLUMLORD FEW!!!
WE ARE CHEERING YOU ON LAKEWOOD CITY COUNCIL! LETS GO AND FINE THE SLUMLORDS NOW!